1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to toy shooting galleries, and more particularly to a gallery assembly in which a gun provided with a trigger is operatively linked to a striker mechanism associated with a row of normally-erect targets, such that when the gun is aimed at a selected target by the player and the trigger is pulled, this actuates the striker mechanism to cause this target to fall down to register a hit.
2. Status of Prior Art
Shooting galleries have long been popular, for a gallery affords a protective enclosure in which a player is able to shoot at various targets with a gun. The target is in a form which registers a hit so that the player's hits and misses are scored. Such galleries make it possible for players to develop shooting skills and to compete with other players.
Early forms of shooting galleries, such as those found in amusement parks, provide the player with a rifle chained to a counter placed in front of a target stage. The targets usually take the form of a moving train of duck-shaped plates which are pivotally mounted. If the player aims correctly and strikes a duck plate with a bullet, this causes the plate to tip over, thereby registering a hit.
Because of the obvious hazards involved in using ammunition, in recent years various forms of innocuous guns have been developed for use in shooting galleries, such as motorized water guns which shoot out a stream of water dart guns which shoot out suction cup darts that engage the surface of a target, and guns which project a light or laser beam that is picked up by a light sensor on the target to produce a signal to register a hit (see Bruckner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,583).
But in all such known guns, the gun must, when triggered, be capable of shooting out a missile of some sort from its barrel or emitting a beam of water or light. These guns are relatively expensive and also easily misplaced, especially by young children. And in some instances, the guns require motors and batteries and include mechanisms which are subject to mechanical or electrical failure.
While existing toy shooting galleries, including those now found in video game arcades which make use of light beam guns and targets provided with light sensors as well as various sound and light effects to indicate a hit, these are unsuitable for very young children in a home environment.